Category Archives: Health & Safety
Ministry of Health and Prevention carries out more than 63,000 additional COVID-19 tests, announces 421 new cases, 490 recoveries, and one death
ABU DHABI, The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, has announced that it has conducted more than 63,000 additional COVID-19 tests.
In a statement, MoHAP outlined its plans to continue expanding the scope of testing nationwide to aid in the early detection of COVID-19 cases and to help the UAE’s medical professionals carry out necessary treatment for all patients.
As part of the intensified testing campaign, the Ministry said 421 new coronavirus cases had been detected, bringing the total number in the UAE to 48,667.
The new COVID-19 patients are from various nationalities and remain in a stable condition while receiving all necessary care.
MoHAP also announced one fatality as a result of COVID-19 complications, taking the total number of deaths in the Emirates to 315.
The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished all COVID-19 patients undergoing treatment a speedy and full recovery.
MoHAP added that an additional 490 individuals have now fully recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of recoveries in the UAE to 37,566.
Source: Emirates News Agency
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi provides HIPEC treatment for abdominal cancer
ABU DHABI, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the Mubadala network, now offers an innovative form of heated chemotherapy that will benefit some of the UAE’s sickest cancer patients.
The treatment, Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, HIPEC, is used in advanced cases of abdominal cancer where tumors have spread to the lining of the abdominal cavity, Cleveland Clinic said in a statement on Monday.
Rather than a series of intravenous infusions HIPEC uses a single dose of chemotherapy drugs delivered directly to the abdomen. The drugs are delivered to the cavity following surgery to remove all visible tumors while the patient is still in the operating room. This method allows any remaining cancer cells to be destroyed, preventing them from becoming tumors.
“In some more advanced cases of abdominal cancer, patients may have hundreds of small tumors in their abdominal lining. While these can be removed with surgery, a strong, targeted dose of chemotherapy is needed to kill any cancer cells left behind. Not only are we able to deliver the drugs directly to the affected area, it only requires a single dose, minimising the side effects for patients,” said Dr. Yasir Akmal, an oncologic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi.
To improve the effectiveness of the chemotherapy drugs, they are heated to 42 degrees, enabling them to penetrate deeper into tissue, destroying more cancer cells. During the infusion, the patient’s body is gently rocked to ensure the chemotherapy drugs reach the entirety of the abdominal cavity. To ensure the patient’s body remains at a safe temperature, they are placed on a cooling pad during the procedure.
Following the single treatment, patients are admitted to the hospital for around ten days while they recover. Once recovered, they can return to their lives under the close supervision of their care team.
“This treatment is truly a lifeline for people with late stage abdominal cancer. The five-year survival rate for patients who undergo HIPEC is around 30 to 40 percent, a number that would be close to zero without it. It’s a great option that gives years of a person’s life back,” concluded Dr. Akmal.
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi recently performed its first HIPEC procedure, with doctors anticipating performing a dozen more in the coming year. The introduction of the treatment comes as the hospital continues to expand its range of cancer services in advance of the opening of its dedicated oncology centre.
Modelled on Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Centre in the USA, it will provide a full range of advanced treatments in a central location and house support services designed to make patients as comfortable as possible as they receive their care.
Source: Emirates News Agency
MoHAP enhances public awareness about its electronic birth and death registration system
DUBAI, The Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, has called the public to take advantage of its electronic channels to obtain a slew of services, including issuing of birth and death certificates or a certified true copy of them.
These e-services are available at MoHAP’s website with detailed information about service requirements, required documents, procedures and steps, service fees, and the time elapsed to issue the service.
This comes as part of MoHAP’s keenness to ease and speed up the steps and procedures for services and to create a register for births and deaths in the country.
Also, the Ministry believes that promoting e-services is part of its endeavours to automate most of the services provided and to be accessible to the public so that they seamlessly manage their health data, in addition to spreading the awareness about how to use these services, in line with the ministry’s trends to provide the public with value-added and top-notch e-services in accordance with the international standards, thanks to the solid infrastructure developed by the ministry throughout the previous years. And now, it reaps the fruits of this upgrade during COVID-19 crisis.
Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al-Rand, Undersecretary of the Ministry’s Health Assistant Sector, Health Centres, and Clinics, said: “These services are in line with MoHAP’s plans for smart and electronic transformation and the activation of electronic connectivity with relevant public entities. This electronic system would help serve the statistical reports for monitoring the rate of births and deaths. Based on that, future indicators and plans will be created to develop the healthcare sector in addition to providing accurate statistical data about the causes of death, in accordance with WHO’s standards.
Al-Rand highlighted the significance of raising public awareness about such services, especially in the current circumstances. This would help reduce the number of visitors to health facilities for the health and safety of them and the employees, as part of the precautionary and preventive measures adopted by the UAE to curb COVID-19, as well as in line with the UAE Government to provide top-notch administrative services efficiently and transparently to meet customers’ aspirations and satisfaction, in addition to minimising the elapsed time to complete their transactions and aligning with the rapid development of electronic and smart services.
MoHAP also provides the package “Mabrouk Ma Yak” for Emirati newborns. It is an integrated service that includes issuing birth certificates and forwarding it to the Federal Authority For Identity And Citizenship to obtain the newborn’s Emirates Identity card and passport. This service also enables the parents, via a single request, to add their baby in the family book and population register. This would help reduce the number of visits of parents to government offices from seven to one visit only.
Dr. Nada Al Marzouqi, Director of MoHAP’s Preventive Medicine Department, mentioned that the services include providing electronic reports for births and deaths in government and private hospitals, submitting requests for issue, reissue, and replacement of lost birth and death certificates by individuals. It also features the issue of an electronic copy of the birth or death certificate immediately after the approval of the online request by the Preventive Medicine Department of the relevant medical district.
She added that the system provides electronic connectivity with the Emirates Identity Authority to update the population register data for birth and death cases, and to enable the electronic payment of fees using e-Dirham cards and credit cards.
Source: Emirates News Agency
Al Qassimi Women’s and Children’s Hospital laboratories obtain ISO 15189
SHARJAH, The Ministry of Health and Prevention recently announced that the medical laboratories at Al Qassimi Women’s and Children’s Hospital have obtained the international accreditation, ISO 15189, in cooperation with the Emirates International Accreditation Centre, EIAC, resulting in the ministry’s network of laboratories becoming the largest in the Middle East to obtain this accreditation.
Officials at the hospital in Sharjah noted that 129,000 examinations were performed in the last three months, conducting five types of tests in biochemistry, hematology, serology, immunology and blood transmissions, which are provided by a specialist laboratory team with 23 employees.
The requirements for the accreditation cover all stages of work, as well as a system for quality management in laboratories based on the principles of patient safety and care, to provide them with the best experience and enable doctors and health teams to obtain accurate results, which will help in reaching internationally-accredited diagnostic and treatment protocols.
“This new accreditation is part of the ministry’s relentless efforts to improve the efficiency of the health facilities network and achieve quality standards and patient safety, as well as to create leadership in the international accreditation field and to support the national efforts to reduce the effects of the COVID-19 crisis,” according to Dr. Hussein Abdel Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Under-Secretary of Health Centres and Clinics Sector.
Al Rand also noted that this achievement came at a time when the UAE ranked first in the world, in terms of COVID-19 screening per capita, while pointing out that the accreditation has helped consolidated the UAE’s global leadership for the fifth consecutive year, in terms of number of accredited health facilities.
Such accomplishments clearly reflect the efficiency of the UAE’s health system and the effectiveness of its curative and preventive practices, in line with the guidelines and recommendations of the World Health Organisation, WHO, as well as its implementation of the highest international standards in providing health care to citizens and residents.
Al Rand also highlighted the unlimited support and directives of the UAE’s leadership in harnessing the country’s best potential and resources, as well as its forward-looking vision to improve the country’s health sector, enhancing the UAE’s regional position as a leading country in laboratory diagnostic services.
Source: Emirates News Agency